If it weren't for the "hard-times", our perceived happiness levels are likely to be pretty similar. The people from 1940 probably looked at the black-and-white

If it weren't for the "hard-times", our perceived happiness levels are likely to be pretty similar. The people from 1940 probably looked at the black-and-white photos of the Civil War era, and thought how hard it must have been to live in a world without cars and planes. For all we know, the next generation will think back on us 2010-folk and think "could you believe it took 5 hours to cross the country by plane?!"